DroneClash: Delft University of Technology organising first anti-drone race

To incorporate drones in our lives in a good and safe way, we need anti-drone instruments. On 4 December the TU Delft Micro Air Vehicle Lab (MAVLab) will host the first ever anti-drone competition: DroneClash. During this competition, participants use their own drone(s) to take down as many other drones as possible. They also need to avoid a whole series of anti-drone interventions.

‘Drones can fly into our lives, but we need to be able to take them out again if necessary’ says Bart Remes of the TU Delft MAVLab. ‘Drone development has grown hugely in recent years, and you can see the anti-drone industry growing too. Ideally, these developments keep each other in check and result in a safe and responsible incorporation of drones in our daily lives. We are organising DroneClash to generate new ideas in order to encourage this process.’

The clash
On 4 December the teams will gather in one of Valkenburg airfield’s hangars (The Netherlands). Four teams will compete in each round. Each team has one or more ‘Fighter drones’ which they can use to take down other drones, and a so-called ‘Queen drone’ which they need to defend. The audience can experience the competition as a sort of real life video game.

The teams start in the Battle 1st Arena, where they have to start trying to take each other down right away. The surviving drones fly through the Hallway of Doom Death and Destruction, where they will be attacked by all kinds of anti-drone instruments. Finally, the remaining drones enter the 4 Queen palace where they must try and knock out the Queen drones of the other teams. Whoever succeeds in this is the winner.

Expo
The DroneClash will provide a platform for all parties interested in anti-drone instrument development. At the DroneClash Expo, developers are invited to exhibit their products and share their ideas for this relatively new field.